The Georgetown Animal Shelter reported a 90 percent live outcome rate for five separate months throughout 2011.

With help from organizations like Friends of the Georgetown Animal Shelter, who raised $26,000 for the facility’s needs, and other volunteers, nine out of 10 animals who came through the shelter were adopted to new homes, transferred to rescue groups or returned to their owner.

“This is a big accomplishment for an open intake municipal shelter because I don’t get to pick and choose what animals come in,” said Jackie Carey, animal services manager. “If I only accepted Maltese, Yorkshire terriers and golden retrievers I could always be no-kill.”

Carey said the shelter follows a practice that has broad public support, because they do not euthanize animals for lack of space or ones they consider adoptable.

“Our numbers are true numbers of all animals that come in, including the animals we euthanized that were not adoptable, but are still counted,” she said.

Earlier this month the City of Austin animal shelter announced a 91 percent live outcome rate. However according to a news release from the city, these percentages between public, nonprofit and rescue facilities differ due to varying rules in intake, adoption and management.

According to Carey, the accomplishments for the shelter are a group effort.

“The live outcome rate we achieved last year was due to the work of so many people, including the Animal Shelter Advisory Board, our dedicated volunteers, our hard-working shelter employees and the broader community,” she said in a news release.

Among those volunteers are the Friends of the Georgetown Animal Shelter, an organization that formed last year and raised $26,000 for the facility in 2011.

Proceeds were raised with community events such as Paws for Mardi Gras dog walk, the Animal Shelter Garage Sale, a golf tournament, silent auction, cookbook sale and the Art for Animals auction.

According to Shawn Gunnin, an active member and one of more than 10 founders of the Friends of the Shelter, $15,000 will be used to purchase both a surgery lamp for the spaying and neutering of incoming animals along with retractable shade awnings for the remaining half of the exposed south side of the shelter.

The remaining funds will be saved for the future needs of the shelter

“It was a pleasant surprise,” said Gunnin. “Prior to the group being formed there was a tradition of support from the community.”

She said that five years ago Georgetown residents raised funds for the new shelter facility that was previously a combination of trailers and old buildings.

“The result of all this effort is that so many more dogs and cats are healthy and living in good homes in our community,” said Carey.